The lawyers' movement for the restoration of deposed judges, had almost petered out, or so it summed, when their long march to Islamabad and the promised sit in on the constitution Avenue (which did not happen, failed to impress President Zardari who didn't move a muscle. The second serious setback to the movement followed when the majority of the deposed judges, except Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry and a few of his colleagues, accepted the government's line and took oath under the PCO despite the warning of the leader of the movement Aitzaz Ahsan, that the lawyers would never accept the new oath under PCO. But the majority of judges, nevertheless, succumbed to their financial compulsions and accepted the PCO oath. Another factor which probably annoyed some front rank senior lawyers was the constant insistence of Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan not to resign from the ruling party - PPP, whose leader had repeatedly refused to accept the lawyers' demand to restore the deposed judges or whatever was left of them. Mr. Ahsan continued to have closed door meetings with President Zardari. When asked by newsmen, to comment on the meetings he said he would not like to disclose what he discussed with Mr. Zardari. This lack of transparency created a leadership crisis in the movement which slided into wilderness. Mr. Ahsan could not have his cake and eat it too. He should have resigned from the membership of the ruling party which was working against the independence of judiciary and has accepted Mr. Musharraf's unconstitutional PCO oath. The sacking of the judges was undoubtedly unconstitutional and undemocratic against which Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan and thousands of lawyers were agitating. Then how is it that the leader of the movement did not leave that party on the plea that he had been associated with it for forty years. So what? If the party was working against the democratic norms and independence of judiciary, he must have sacrificed his loyalty to the party for a greater cause. Anyway, the movement has again been revived through the efforts of the new SCBA President Mr. Ali Ahmed Kurd and some other senior lawyers. A new element which has been injected in the movement is the declaration of complete and unconditional support of the Muslim League (N) leader Mian Nawaz Sharif to the lawyers' long march and sit-in in Islamabad calling for immediate restoration of judges deposed by Mr. Musharraf, He said "his party would actively participate in the lawyers' long march, scheduled for March 16. It's a national cause and we could not give it up at any cost." He, however, added that he did not want confrontation with the government. "The lawyers' campaign is just and I appeal to the public to come out on the streets in March to support it." Mr. Sharif urged president Zardari to "honor his commitments and deliver on his promises", including reinstatement of judges and implementation of the Charter of Democracy signed by the PPP and PML-N in 2006. He warned President Zardari that if the deposed judges are not reinstated before the Long March, "we will not only join the March but also participate in lawyers' sit-in till the reinstatement of the judges." This is indeed a very strong challenge by the second largest political party to President Zardari whose government has become increasingly unpopular among the masses due to mis-governance and his eroded credibility on major national issues such as the scrapping of the 17th amendment and restoration of judges. The continued energy crisis and high rate of inflation has also turned people against the PPP government. Terrorism, particularly the deteriorating situation in Swat is not coming under control and people are not happy over the government's failed strategies to come to grips with the activities of the terrorists and the overall law and order situation, random killings of innocent people and destruction of educational institutions. The Taliban are hell bent to take Pakistan back to the Stone Age in the name of Islam. They want to keep the women, who are more than half of the population, ignorant and confined to the four walls of their homes. They also want to destroy the country's judicial system in the name of imposing Shariah Law. The record of superior judiciary in Pakistan from time of Governor General Ghulam Mohammad has not been very enviable. Justice Munir down to Justice Dogar, they have tailored their judgments to suit the needs of the rulers and their own self interests barring a few rare exceptions. Justice Iftikhar Choudhry was "one such exception who refused to surrender to a military dictator. This made him the nation's darling and ignited the lawyers' movement. In short, Mr. Zardari is swimming against the tide of public sentiments and is playing on a very weak wicket. If the lawyers' long march and sit-in succeed, it might de-stabilize the PPP government. Mr. Zardari should "beware of the Ides of March" and try to avoid the Shakespearean soothsayer's prediction as best as he could. E-mail: burhanhasan@hotmail.com